US Politics Mega-thread - Page 5320

On October 05 2016 03:04 TheYango wrote:

To be fair, there's plenty on the conservative side of this thread who are sick of McConnell's bullshit too.

I distinctly remember Danglars calling him out on this earlier in the thread.

Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte told President Barack Obama "you can go to hell" in a speech Tuesday that was his strongest tirade so far against the U.S. over its criticism of his deadly anti-drug campaign, adding that he may eventually decide to "break up with America."

He also lashed out anew at the European Union, saying the bloc, which has also criticized his brutal crackdown, "better choose purgatory, hell is filled up."

Since becoming president in June, Duterte has had an uneasy relationship with the U.S. and with Obama and has declared intentions to bolster relations with China and Russia as he revamps Philippine foreign policy that has long leaned on Washington.

The brash-speaking leader also has been hypersensitive to criticism over his anti-drug crackdown, which has left more than an estimated 3,000 suspected drug dealers and pushers dead in just three months, alarming the United Nations, the EU, the U.S. and human rights watchdogs.


In a speech before a local convention attended by officials and business executives, Duterte outlined his disappointments with the U.S., which has asked his government to stop the widespread killings and has questioned whether human rights are being violated. He also described Washington as an unreliable ally, saying Filipino forces have not benefited from joint combat exercises with U.S. troops.

"Instead of helping us, the first to criticize is this State Department, so you can go to hell, Mr. Obama, you can go to hell," Duterte said. Then addressing the EU, he said: "Better choose purgatory, hell is filled up."

In a later speech at a synagogue in Makati city in the Manila metropolis, Duterte warned he may decide to "break up with America" in his most serious threat so far to push relations back with Washington.

"Eventually I might, in my time, I will break up with America," he said without elaborating. "I would rather go to Russia and to China."

In Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday that the U.S. had not received any official request from Duterte or any other Philippine official to alter any aspect of bilateral cooperation.

Donald Trump used his private foundation -- funded largely by outsider contributions -- to build relationships with social conservative groups ahead of his 2016 presidential bid, an examination by Real Clear Politics published Tuesday found.

In one case, the Trump Foundation may have violated IRS rules by donating to a not-for-profit allowed to engage in a political activity -- and thus subject to tougher regulations regarding incoming contributions -- as opposed to a traditional charity. The other transactions highlighted by Real Clear Politics reveal a pattern starting in 2011 of Trump speaking at right wing groups' confabs around the same time the Trump Foundation was making donations to their non-profit affiliates, though the RCP report stopped short of alleging an explicit quid pro quo.

“He was politically active starting in 2011,” a source with ties to Trump told RCP, adding that around that time Trump “started to make strategic donations.”

Trump Foundation tax filings between in 2011 and 2014 showed that it donated up at least $286,000 to noteworthy conservative or policy groups, RCP reported. Often times, the contributions were from Trump's foundation to the charity arms of the social conservative groups. However, Trump Foundation tax returns from 2013 show a $10,000 contribution to The Family Leader -- a 501(c)(4) that is allowed to engage in limited political activity and thus receives more scrutiny -- rather than to the group's 501(c)(3) charity affiliate the Family Leader Foundation, according to RCP.

“There’s a mistake somewhere,” Rosemary Fei, a partner at the Adler & Colvin law firm in San Francisco, who specializes in charity law, told RCP. “It might be a really substantive mistake, or it could just be a reporting error or sloppiness. But improper reporting is still a violation of tax law. That’s something the IRS would look at.”

Even in instances where the Trump Foundation probably did not violate charity tax law, the foundation's transactions paint a picture of how Trump made inroads with the social conservative movement -- which had reason to be skeptical of the flashy New York billionaire -- as he laid the ground work for his campaign for the GOP nomination.

The RCP report comes as the Trump Foundation is under investigation by the New York Attorney General's office, which ordered last week that it cease its fundraising activities because it lacked the proper certification to solicit contributions. Trump himself stopped donating to the foundation after 2008, according to tax filings, and its coffers have since been filled outside contributors.

This week, the Supreme Court returns to work. The Justices will hear important cases on issues ranging from the separation of church and state to intellectual property to Congressional redistricting to the death penalty. Many of the cases address questions that are fundamental to our democracy: the right to vote, for instance, or what constitutes U.S. citizenship. Yet – regardless of the stakes – Republicans in Congress have forced the Court to weigh these pivotal issues one Justice short of the Court’s full panel of nine.

In a city of self-inflicted wounds, this one is more dangerous and less defensible than most.

It’s been 202 days since I nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. That’s more than five months longer than the average nominee has had to wait over the last 40 years to receive a hearing in Congress – let alone an up or down vote. This delay has nothing to do with Judge Garland’s personality or his qualifications. Senators on both sides of the aisle acknowledge that he is a distinguished legal mind, a dedicated public servant, and a good and decent man.

Leader McConnell argues that with an election looming, the Supreme Court should remain short staffed, and he certainly knows his way around DC. But the last time a Supreme Court seat was kept vacant through Election Day was in 1864. At the height of the Civil War. So, this isn’t about precedent. This is about the obstruction of a broken Republican-led Congress.

Every day that GOP Senate leaders block this nomination, they hamstring the entire third branch of government. The Supreme Court is the final destination in a federal judiciary that routinely weighs some of society’s biggest questions. Already this past June, we saw a deadlocked Supreme Court, with no tie-breaking vote, unable to reach a majority on a major immigration case – leaving our Nation’s immigrants in limbo.

Part of what makes Judge Garland a remarkable jurist is his understanding that justice isn’t an abstract theory. It touches people’s lives every day. As long as Republicans continue their brinksmanship, America pays the price. Our most basic workings as a nation aren’t possible without a functioning judiciary at every level. Commerce is hindered and lives are put on hold. If we ever hope to restore the faith in our institutions that has eroded in recent years, we cannot tolerate a politically motivated, willfully negligent vacancy on the Supreme Court.

But this breakdown at the highest level is part of a bigger pattern.

By hobbling the Supreme Court for what could be a year or longer, Republicans are eroding one of the core institutions of American democracy. This cannot be the new normal.
Republicans have long been resolved to defeat proposals I’ve put forward or supported on everything from equal pay, immigration reform and increasing the minimum wage, to expanding commonsense background checks for those who want to purchase a gun, and basic protections for American workers against discrimination based on who they love or how they identify.

Republican leaders in Congress have proven they won’t work with my Administration, but along the way, they’ve lost sight of their basic mission. They can’t even meet their own goals. Republicans say they care about good paying jobs, but they’re ignoring one of the best ways to create them by refusing to make long overdue investments rebuilding our roads, bridges, ports and airports. A major infrastructure push would put Americans back to work and make our businesses more competitive – but Congress can’t get it done. They can’t move the ball forward on tax reform, one of the GOP’s biggest priorities, and they continue to delay serious funding to combat an opioid epidemic that has devastated the lives of many of their constituents. They talk a great deal about poverty, but refuse to address it in a meaningful way.

On countless priorities – issues that matter to people across the country, regardless of their politics – Republicans in Washington have traded progress for partisanship.

Their obstruction underscores a fundamental misunderstanding of the way our government should work. Sure, they’re blocking Merrick Garland – and maybe scoring a political point or two – but in doing so they are failing the American people. By hobbling the Supreme Court for what could be a year or longer, Republicans are eroding one of the core institutions of American democracy.
This cannot be the new normal. Let’s disagree on the issues, but let’s work together to protect a system of government that has stood strong for 240 years and made us the greatest country on Earth. We must expect better. You must demand better.

That’s why it’s so important that you make your voice heard. Call your representative. Tweet your Senator. Tell them what matters to you. And in November go vote. Then do it again in the next election, even when the presidency isn’t at stake. Send a clear message that Congress, at the very least, needs to perform its basic, Constitutional responsibilities – and should do much more.

We didn’t grow from a fledgling nation into the greatest force for good the world has ever known by flouting the institutions that define our democracy. We did it through fidelity to the values of our founding, and an understanding that our American experiment only works when we the people have a say. So do your part, and demand your representatives do theirs. That’s how we’ll carry forward the work of perfecting our Union.

On October 05 2016 03:17 Danglars wrote:

He's one of the most reviled men amongst conservatives.

This is all rather funny. Someone wants to stick up for Obama's alleged bipartisanship and expects naming Republican leaders will provoke the same. He deserves to be gone, even at the cost of a GOP seat, but it's going to be a long time and I expect he'll retire into a cozy lobbying position if the race becomes tough.

On October 05 2016 04:30 Doodsmack wrote:


Sadly, he's only reviled because he didn't obstruct enough. He "gave in". LOL

On October 05 2016 03:17 Danglars wrote:

He's one of the most reviled men amongst conservatives.

This is all rather funny. Someone wants to stick up for Obama's alleged bipartisanship and expects naming Republican leaders will provoke the same. He deserves to be gone, even at the cost of a GOP seat, but it's going to be a long time and I expect he'll retire into a cozy lobbying position if the race becomes tough.

On October 05 2016 04:52 Gorsameth wrote:

So why exactly is this terrible man The single biggest spokesperson for the Republican party? Why has he not been driven out of atleast his leader position if his seat is so safe.
Is it perhabs because he indeed does speak for the majority of Republican politicians? And if so what does that tell you about where your party stands in relation to yourself?

On October 05 2016 05:16 zlefin wrote:
Stupid CNN, they have a countdown clock until the debate; we know when it's on, we don't need a gardang countdown clock!

On October 05 2016 05:16 zlefin wrote:
Stupid CNN, they have a countdown clock until the debate; we know when it's on, we don't need a gardang countdown clock!